Sampson Gideon
| Sampson Gideon | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 1699 London |
| Died |
17 October 1762 (aged 63) Erith, Kent |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Banker |
| Religion | Jewish |
Sampson Gideon (February 1699 – 17 October 1762) was a Jewish-British banker in the City of London.
He was born at London Wall, City of London, second son in five children of Rowland Gideon (né Abudiente), who traded with the West Indies, and his second wife Esther (also Jewish), daughter of Domingo (or Abraham) do Porto, a diamond buyer in Madras, India. Rowland's parents were Portuguese immigrants.[1]
He was a trusted "adviser of the Government," and a supporter of the Jew Bill of 1753.
Early in the 1740s he married Jane (died 1778), daughter of Charles Ermell. His son, Sampson Gideon educated at Eton College, was created a Baronet in 1759 and Baron Eardley of Spalding in 1789. The elder Sampson had lobbied for a baronetcy for himself from the then prime minister, the Duke of Newcastle, but was denied it on account of his own religion, as he remained a practising Jew. His son and two daughters, on the contrary, whose mother was Christian, were baptised and brought up in the Church of England.[2]
He was also the father of Elizabeth Gideon, the wife of William Gage, 2nd Viscount Gage.
Gideon died of dropsy at Belvidere House, near Erith, Kent, in October 1762, aged 63, having a gained a fortune recorded as £350,000 (equivalent to $47 million in 2015). He left £1000 to the Sephardi Jewish congregation in London on condition he was buried with honour as a married man in their cemetery in Mile End.[2]
References
Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney, eds. (1890). "Gideon, Sampson". Dictionary of National Biography. 21. London: Smith, Elder & Co.